A Rich Collection of Fossils from Fonelas P-1, Spain

The BBC reports on the discovery of a very abundant collection of fossils unearthed at an ancient hyena den in the Granada region of south-east Spain. The site is named Fonelas P-1, and it is very important. How so? It falls right in between the Pleiocene and Pleistocene which is when early Homo is thoght to have made one of the first migrations out of Africa.

Currently, the site has yielded over 4,000 very diverse fossils including, gazelles, wolves, wild boar, lynx, sabretoothed cats, giraffes and zebras… as well as hyenas.

The official date hasn’t come back yet, but Fonelas P-1 is thought to be about 1.8 million years old. No hominins have been found yet but I wouldn’t be surprised if they do find one. With such a diverse and abundant list of fauna, Fonelas P-1 would have been the perfect place to attract hominins. Also, there are many similar fauna represented in Fonelas collection and those found early tool making sites in East Africa.

So keep your eyes out for Fonelas P-1. It should be a really interesting European site for paleoanthropology and paleontology.